Loving God

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

Nehemiah, Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah were Israelite men living in foreign countries.

They kept their identity as Jewish people till the end. The reason they could keep their identity is that they loved their God with all their heart, soul, and might.

As Christians, in order to keep our identity alive, we must know who we are in Christ; loving God with all our heart, soul, and might. I believe LOVE is the key!

Jesus goes little further and completes the commandment written in Deuteronomy 6:5… ”And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27 ESV)

LOVE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! We must walk in Divine (Agape) love.

When we walk in divine love, then we are obedient to the will of the Lord.

God takes FIRST PLACE in our lives and we no longer live for ourselves but for Him as Paul mentioned in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

God was pleased with Nehemiah, Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah because of their total dependence on God, and their complete obedience to Him.

God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

God used Daniel to reveal end-times revelation.

Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah became the most important people in the king`s cabinet.

To keep our identity ALIVE we need to constantly remind ourselves that who we are in Christ and love our God with all our heart, soul, and might.

We must love others as ourselves.

Our love walk, and our total submissive obedience to the will of God, will MAKE GREAT DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD!

Do you feel like those around you don’t identify you as a Christian? Look to your true love, Jesus, and focus on him as you walk in faith.

Adapted from Pastor Sharad’s newsletter. You can learn more about his ministry in India and how we support them here.